Pavements



June 21, 1960 E. N. JACOB] PAVEMENTS Filed Nov. 13, 1956 25 I [PM k I INVENTbR. EDWARD N JACOB! ATTORNEY PAVEMENTS Edward N. Jacobi, 2128 E. Lafayette Place,

Milwaukee 2, Wis.

Filed Nov. 13, 1956, Ser. No. 621,672 3 Claims. (CI. 94-13) This invention relates to pavements for driveways and the like-and topaving units or tiles for the same.

An object of the invention is to provide improved paving units or tiles which can be easily laid to format driveway, and which can be arranged in different-patterns. Another object is to provide paving units in the form of marginally ledged or flanged plates arranged for lapping engagement with adjacent units.

Still another object is to provide marginally ledged or flanged paving plates or tiles of generally circular or disk-like shape.

A further object is to provide paving units or tiles which are capable of inexpensive manufacture and which will permit construction of driveways by inexperienced person's. s

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a top view of a portion of a driveway constructed with paving units or tiles of the invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of a portion of the driveway, parts being shown in section along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the paving units;

Fig. 4 is 'a top plan view of a modified form of paving unit; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevational view of the paving unit of Fig. 4, taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 shows a portion of a driveway pavement formed by paving units or tiles of the invention. Each paving unit comprises a plate of suitable paving material such as concrete, artificial stone, or ceramic ware. The crosswise dimensions of the plate at right angles to each other are approximately equal, and the plate is desirably in the form of a disk with a cylindn'cal periphery. The disks may be made in various sizes, and by way of example may be about 20 inches in diameter and about 4% inches thick. Each disk has generally flat parallel top and bottom faces 11 and 12 and is provided with marginal recesses or rabbets 13 and 14 along opposite sides, the rabbet 13 extending in the top face of the disk and the rabbet 14 extending in the bottom face of the disk, and each rabbet extending through almost 180 of arc. Each rabbet has a substantially vertical arcuate side wall 15 and a sloping face 16 lying in a frusto-conical surface of revolution. The sloping face 16 of the upper rabbet 13 forms the top face of a lower arcuate marginal ledge or flange 17 the flat lower face of which is coplanar with the bottom face of the disk. The sloping face 16 of the lower rabbet 14 forms the bottom face of an upper arcuate marginal ledge or flange 18 the flat upper face of which is coplanar with the top face of the disk. Each of the arcuate ledges or flanges 17 and 18 extends through approximately 180 of arc, and the ends of the ledges or flanges are joined by diametrically opposite vertical ribs 19. The sloping faces 16 of the ledges or flanges are disposed at a suitable small angle to the horizontal, preferably about 35 Each ledge or flange tapers or thins in cross-section to its outer edge,

and the thickness of each flange at its junction with the main body of the disk is greater than one-half the thickness of the disk, thus providing adequate strength in the flanges. Ilhe disks are symmetrically formed so that either face of the. disk may be uppermost. However, in some cases the upper face of the disk may be specially colored or otherwise treated to form the exposed wearing surface. The marginal ledges or flanges of adjacent disks are adapted to lap and bear on each other, as hereinafter more fully described.

In preparing the driveway, such as one leading from a street to a garage, the ground is excavated toform a subgrade 20 spaced below ground level a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the paving disks. In some instances the subgrade may be tamped. Where the driveway extends across a sidewalk 21 along the street the inner edge of the sidewalk is provided with a downwardly ofliset ledge 22 with a sloping top face 23. The ledge 22 is here shown to be formed on a border strip 24 constituting part of the sidewalk. The driveway pavement is formed by rows of the paving disks which .are laid flatwise on the subgrade 20. The first laid row of disks extends along the sidewalk 21, the upper marginal ledges or flanges 18 of the disks resting on the sloping upper face 23 of the sidewalk ledge 22, and the upper ledges or flanges of the disks also resting on the sloping upper faces 16 of the lower ledges or flanges 17 of adjacent disks. A diameter of each disk extending to the opposite ribs 19 of the disk lies at an angle of approximately 30 to the edge of the sidewalk. Similarly oriented disks in the second row are then laid on the subgrade, the upper marginal ledges or flanges 18 of these disks resting on the lower ledges or flanges 17 of the disks in the first row and on the lower ledges or flanges of adjacent disks in the second row. In this arrangement the disks in the second row extend in the angles or recesses formed between the adjacent disks in the first row, the centers of each three lapping disks in adjacent rows being disposed approximately at the apices of an equilateral triangle. Preferably, the marginal edges of the disk flanges are slightly spaced from the rabbet side walls 15 of adjacent dislm, and their spacing can be varied to suit requirements. Succeeding rows of disks are laid in the same manner, either in the triangular pattern described or in a square pattern, both patterns being shown in Fig. 1. When the disks are laid in a triangular pattern the interstices between adjacent disks are quite small, and when the disks are laid in a square pattern the interstices are larger, but in either case these interstices are sufliciently small to avoid interference with the rolling travel of automobile tires. The interstices may be left open, or they may be subsequently occupied by low-growing vegetation, or by gravel, or by both. The paving disks may be laid in a variety of random patterns to suit the desired shape of the driveway or paved area. For example, the edges of the driveway may be curved or winding, and the driveway may be varied in width along its length. Careful and close fitting of the disks is not required, and even if the extent 'of overlap of the flanges of adjacent disks is varied, the disks will still present an acceptably even surface because of the small angle of the sloping bearing faces of the flanges.

The marginal disks of the pavement are laterally confined by the ledge strip 24 and by the side walls of the subgrade excavation 20. In some instances the side disks of the pavement may be additionally confined, as by stakes 25 driven into .the ground in the reentrant spaces between adjacent disks, the upper ends of the stakes preferably being not higher than the surface of the pavement. The stakes may also be used when the pavementforming disks are laid directly on an unexcavated ground surface.

The modified form of paving disk 10' shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is similar to that of Fig. 3 except for the provision of a concentrically arranged circle of vertically extending holes 25 which serve to lighten the disk and to facilitate curing or firing of the disk. These holes areofsufficiently small diameter to avoid interference with the. rolling travel of automobile tires overthe disk. Preferably the holes are of upwardly diverging conical shape to facilitate formation and to avoid cracking of the disk by water freezing in the holes. In climates where fireezing temperatures are not encountered, either face of the disk may be uppermost.

The circular shape of the paving units not only facilitates laying of the units in various patterns, but also permits the relatively large units to berolled along the ground duringv construction ofthe driveway.

- I claim:

1. A paving unit comprising a disk-shaped plate having an upper marginal flange at one side and a lower marginal flange at the other side, each flange being of: generally semi-circular shape and extending along approximately one-half the periphery of the plate, each flange tapering in cross-section toward its outer. edge, the upper. surface of said upper flange being coplanar with the upper face ofthe plate, the lower surface of said lower: flange being coplanar with the lower face of the plate, each flange having its opposite sloping face forming a bearing face and lying between the planes of the upper and lower faces of the plate, the bearing face. of one flange being oppositely inclined to the bearing face of the other flange, and said plate having diametrically opposite ribs connecting the adjacent ends of the upper and lower flanges.

2. A paving construction comprising a plurality of laterally adjacent disk-shaped plates, each of said plates being constructed as defined in claim 1, the upper marginal flange of each plate overlapping the lower marginal flange of one or more adjacent Plates.

3. A paving unit comprising a disk-shaped plate having an upper marginal flange at one side and a lower marginal flange at the other side, each flange being of generally semi-circular shape andv extending along approximately one-half the periphery "of theplate, the upper surface of the upper flange beingcoplanar with the upper face of the plate, the lower surface of the lower flange being coplanar with the lower face, of the plate, each flange having a bearing surface lying between the planes of the upper and lower faces ofthe plate, said plate having diametrically opposite ribs at its periphery integrally connecting the adjacent "ends of said upper and lower flanges, and each flange adapted to lap complementary flanges of laterally adjacent similar plates.

References Cited in the filev of this patent UN TED- TA S PAT NW 1,812,71 Pes one -V----.-,---- June 39, 1.23.1 1,991,931 Klinget al. Feb. 19, 1935 2,023,307 Bur-ton Dec. 3, 193,5

O E N TE T 9,588 Great Britain of 1843 74,512 Switzerland Mar. 1, 1917 843,234 France Mar. 20, 1939 921,289 France Jan. 10, 1947 512,277 Belgium July 15, 1952 515,227 Belgium Nov. 14, 1952 522,192 Belgium Sept. 15, I953 

